Playing Pretend
by JusttxJaycie
Summary: Santana liked to pretend that he really did love her; that he loved her the way she loved him. Oneshot.


AN: Yes, its another short one from me. Um, the rating is a bit higher on this one, because, well, I'm writing about major moments in Santana and Puck's life. With those two, its just the way it works. So, I hope you enjoy! Unbeta'd because I was too anxious to post this to wait until Eternal got home from school. I'll have her look over it and post the beta'd version as soon as I can. ;) Final word count: 740

Disclaimer: Trust me, I'm very much NOT Ryan Murphy. /sigh/

Sometimes, Santana just liked to pretend. She liked to pretend that she actually had a chance of leaving Ohio. She liked to pretend that her family's life wasn't going to hell as her parents' seemingly inevitable divorce loomed closer. But more than anything else in the world, Santana liked to pretend that he really did love her; that he loved her the way she loved him.

The first time they met, they were seven. Puck had just taken the swing that Brittany had wanted, and he was taunting her with it as she stood nearby and cried. Santana stormed over to them, fire in her dark eyes. Sure, she and the blond had just met, but no one made her friends cry. She gave Brittany a hug, told her she would fix everything, and turned to Puck and let loose. Half a minute later, Puck got off the swing, and offered it to Brittany, staring wide-eyed at Santana the whole time. After that day, they were best friends.

The first time the seriously fought, they were in eighth grade, and Santana had just started dating her first boyfriend, Kyle. Puck didn't like Kyle. He said it was because Kyle cheated at Call of Duty, but Santana didn't really believe that was the reason. He came up to her one day and started yelling at her for "dating the enemy." When she replied that she didn't see how Kyle was _her_ enemy, even if he was his, he called her a "dumbass girl" and stomped off. She didn't talk to him for three weeks. After that, she decided that she would never understand boys.

The first time they kissed, they were at the pond. It was the middle of summer. Santana was sitting on the bank in her bikini, trying to tan. Puck was splashing her with water, trying to convince her to swim with him. He got tired of her refusing, so he got up and crouched down beside her. She sat up on her elbows, looking at him warily. In one swift movement, he grabbed her up bridal style, and started running toward the water. She was screaming at him to let her down the whole time. He jumped into the water, submerging them both. When he resurfaced, she was already yelling at him. In an attempt to stop her yelling, he grabbed her by the hips, pulled her towards him, and kissed her softly. After that kiss, she decided it was the best kiss she had ever had, but she wouldn't ever tell Puck that. She didn't want to inflate his ego anymore. That could wait.

The first time they slept together, it was storming. Puck's mom had taken Sarah shopping, and left them together, alone in Puck's house. A big spring thunderstorm hit, and, even though she wouldn't admit it, he could see she was terrified. He didn't like the fear in the normally stoic Latina's eyes, and he wanted to make it go away. Trying to make her forget, he kissed her. It seemed to work fine. She was responding to him, same as always. Then the lights flickered – once – twice – three times – and then they were plunged into a seemingly never-ending darkness, that was broken only by the lightning. She froze suddenly, and Puck knew he had to do more. He kissed her harder, more passionate, as distractingly as he possibly could. One thing lead to another, and the thunder became nothing more than the soundtrack to their nights, and the lightning taking care of romantic lighting. After that night, she loved thunderstorms.

The first time they broke up was also the first time she realized she loved him. He met her at his locker after fifth period as always. She greeted him with a smile, but instead of trapping her against the locker, and kissing her the way he normally does, he told her that "its not going to work out between them" and he "needs his space from her." She stands there in shock, watching him walk away, the words "Puck, I love you" still on the tip of her tongue. She stood there long after the bell for the next period had rang, not believing that had just happened. She later found out that Puck and Karen McClay had hooked up that exact same night. After that day, she decided that he would never know how much she loved him.

_End_

AN: I think this is probably the most angsty thing I've ever written. I'm kind of proud of myself for not giving them a happy ending. I kind of wrote this mostly for my own benefit – I like to have backstories for the characters I write a lot about – but I hope you all enjoyed it. Remember, reviews are love! ;)

Until next time,

Jaycie xox


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